Swimming pool and method of constructing same

ABSTRACT

An in-ground swimming pool having a poured concrete bottom, an upstanding wall composed of a series of vertically corrugated metal panels bonded to the bottom, and means which provides coping around the top of the wall. The wall is bonded to the bottom by means of an epoxy resin which is applied along the lower margin of the wall and in a continuous recess which is formed in the periphery of the bottom during pouring and which has a layer of deformable leveling material in its base for supporting the wall. The leveling material permits the wall to be leveled before being permanently bonded to the bottom by the epoxy. The coping means may be provided with an upwardly open water channel at water level; in which case, a layer of epoxy resin is disposed between the top of the wall and the underside of the coping. The channel coping is supported on a series of horizontally disposed members which are vertically adjustable by means of threaded fasteners to enable the position of the coping to be adjusted before a layer of concrete is poured therearound to effect permanent installation of the coping in the ground.

[72] Inventor Brickley S. Orndorff Camp Hill, Pa. [21] Appl. No. 52,250 [22] Filed July6,1970 [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972 [73] Assignee Penn-Aquatic lnrlustries,lnc.

Mechanicsburg, Pa.

[54] SWIMMING POOL AND METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING SAME 6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs. [52] U.S.C1 4/172.19, 52/169, 52/293 [51] Int. Cl E04h 3/16, E04h 3/18 [50] Field ofSearch 52/169, 293;4/172.19, 172 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,881,876 4/1959 Williams 52/293 X 3,059,243 10/1962 Ross etaL... 4/172.19 3,416,165 12/1968 Pereira 4/172.19 3,429,085 2/1969 Stillman, Jr. 52/169 3,444,659 5/1969 Shanni 4/l72.l9X

3,468,088 9/1969 Miller 3,551,920 l/197l Greene Primary Examiner-Samuel B. Rothberg Assistant Examiner-Henry K. Artis Attorney-Howson and Howson ABSTRACT: An in-ground swimming pool having a poured concrete bottom, an upstanding wall composed of a series of vertically corrugated metal panels bonded to the bottom, and means which provides coping around the top of the wall. The wall is bonded to the bottom by means of an epoxy resin which is applied along the lower margin of the wall and in a continuous recess which is formed in the periphery of the bottom during pouring and which has a layer of deformable leveling material in its base for supporting the wall. The leveling material permits the wall to be leveled before being permanently bonded to the bottom by the epoxy. The coping means may be provided with an upwardly open water channel at water level; in which case, a layer of epoxy resin is disposed between the top of the wall and the underside of the coping. The channel coping is supported on a series of horizontally disposed members which are vertically adjustable by means of threaded fasteners to enable the position of the coping to be adjusted before a layer of concrete is poured therearound to effect permanent installation of the coping in the ground.

'NVE NTOR:

ATTYS.

PATENTEDJAN 41972 SHEET 1 OF 3 FIG. I.

BRICKLEY S. ORNDORFF PATENTED JAN 4.1972

SHEET 2 [1F 3 FIG 3.

MI" 1 V I."

H? Ill mvcnro'm BY BRICKLEY S ORNDORFF ATTYS.

PATENTED JAN 4 I972 SHEET 3 OF 3 FIG. 4.

FIGS

,IIIIIIIIIII FIG] ZllIf/lllll/lll lllllll/I/ INVENTOR: ORNDORFF BRICKLEY ATTYS,

SWHMMIENG Gil. AND METHOD F CONSTMKZTHNG SAME The present invention relates to in-ground swimming pools having concrete bottoms and steel sidewalls and to a method of constructing such pools.

Swimming pools having poured concrete bottoms and up standing metal walls have been constructed. Examples of pools constructed in this manner are disclosed in US. Pats. No. 2,888,818 and No. 3,031,801 issued to E. G. beuthesser; however, pools constructed according to the teachings of these patents possess certain limitations. For instance, in pools of this type, the metal sidewalls are normally erected before the bottom is poured. As a result, the walls must be securely shored during pouring, since the forces of the moving concrete during the pouring operation may tend to cause the walls to bow outwardly. Skilled workmen are required to effect proper shoring, plumbing and leveling of the walls, and the additional materials required for these purposes prevents pool construction economics from being realized.

in pools constructed as described above, there is an absence of adequate means for providing a watertight seal around the bottom of the pool along the intersection of the concrete bottom and the metal wall. It is possible for cavities and small passages to be formed in the vicinity of the wall bottom by air entrapped or entrained in the concrete during pouring, and such passages can enable water to leak outwardly from underneath the wall. Thus, caution must be exercised by skilled workmen to ensure construction of a leak-proof pool. Furthermore, limited movement of the wall relative to the bottom, caused by shifting earth, thermal expansion and contraction, and like factors may tend to cause the concrete to crack along the bottom of the wall, thereby permitting water to leak from the pool.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a swimming pool having a novel structure which enables the pool to be constructed with a minimum of skilled labor.

it is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of constructing swimming pools having concrete bottoms and metal sidewalls in a manner which effects construction economies.

As a further object, the present invention provides a swimming pool having a unique structure by which a watertight seal is provided between its metal wall and concrete bottom.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved structure for temporarily mounting coping around the top of the wall of the pool to enable the position of the coping to be adjusted before concrete is poured therearound to permanently integrate the coping in the structure of the pool.

More specifically, in a swimming pool having a poured concrete bottom, a corrugated metal sidewall composed of a series of panels bolted together, and means providing coping around the top of the wall, the present invention contemplates a structure which provides an improved watertight seal along the juncture of the sidewall and bottom. The seal is efi'ected by first pouring the concrete bottom of the pool in a cavity excavated in the earth, and during pouring, disposing a form having a predetermined peripheral shape in the concrete so as to form a continuous peripheral recess around the bottom upon removal of the form. Next, a layer of deformable leveling material is placed in the recess and metal wall is inserted downwardly into the recess to rest on the leveling material. After the wall has been leveled, plumbed, and properly bolted, a sealing and bonding agent such as an epoxy resin is applied along the lower margin of the wall in the recess. Thereafter, the earth cavity is backfilled to a level below the top of the wall and is ramped, and coping is installed around the top of the wall. in some installations, the coping is formed of metal and has a water-receiving channel, and it is temporarily supported on a series of horizontally disposed members which are mounted for vertical displacement by means of threaded fasteners to enable the position of the coping to be adjusted with respect to the top of the wall. In such case, a layer of epoxy sealing material is disposed between the underside of the coping and the top of the wall to provide a leak-proof joint. After the level of the coping has been adjusted, an additional layer of concrete is poured around the support members and the fasteners, thereby permanently integrating the coping into the pool structure. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 21 is a vertically foreshortened sectional view of a swimming pool embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the wall of the pool illustrated in FIG. l and with portions broken away, the view looking outwardly from the inside of the pool;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3, FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are sectional views taken along lines 4-4, 55, and 6-45 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side elevational view of the structure for temporarily supporting the coping before concrete is poured therearound as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a portion of swimming pool 10 constructed in accordance with the present invention. As illustrated therein, the pool ll) is set below mound level in a cavity 12 which is excavated in the earth in the advance stages of construction. The pool it) has a bottom 13, a wall 14 upstanding from the bottom l3, and means which provides coping 15 around the top of the wall 14.

The bottom 13 of the pool is of poured concrete construction and it is reinforced by rods or wire mesh 16 in the customary manner. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the bottom 13 has an upwardly, offset peripheral flange 17 which mounts the wall 14, the wire mesh 16 also being upwardly offset and extending into the flange 17 below the wall 14. The bottom 13, is formed in one of many conventional plan shapes, such as oval, kidney or the like, and the bottom iscontoured to provide the pool with deep and shallow zones.

As may be seen in FIG. 3, the metallic wall 14 is vertically corrugated and is preferably of type 304 Stainless Steel metal construction. The wall 14 is composed of a series of panels Ma, Ma which are connected together with their vertical margins in overlapping relation (see FIG. 4) by means of threaded fasteners 24, 24 which also connect the panels Ma, Ma to each of a pair of tie bars 21 and 22 extending continuously around the outside of the wall l4 adjacent its upper and lower margins, respectively. Each panel lda is also connected to the adjoining panels intermediate its upper and lower margins and to the tie bars by threaded fasteners 24, 24. As illustrated in FIG. d, each tie bar, for example the top bar 21, has a series of horizontally elongated through slots 23, 23 located at spaced intervals corresponding approximately to the spacing of the fasteners 24-, 24 (FIG. 3) to permit limited horizontal adjustment of the panels Ma, Ma relative to the tie bars 21 and 22 during erection of the wall 14. in order to connect the panels 1140, Ma in a leak-proof manner, a resilient washer 25 (H6. 4) is provided between the head of each fastener and the inside of the wall 14. Also, a gasket 26 of resilient material is disposed between the overlapping margins of the adjacent panels Ma, Ma and extends from top to bottom in the wall 14. The fasteners 24 and the washers 25 and gaskets 26 are shaped to engage in the grooves formed between adjacent corrugations in the panels. Thus, when the fasteners 24 are tightened, a relatively lluidtight joint is provided between the panels and a strong upstanding wall which is resistant to bowing during further stages in the construction process is provided.

According to the method of the present invention, the bottom 13 is poured before the wall M is erected. During pouring, a form having a rectangular transverse cross section and a peripheral shape which is determined by the desired shape of the pool is disposed in the poured concrete with a portion projecting below the surface of the concrete until the concrete has at least partially set so as to create an upwardly open recess 24 upon its removal from the concrete. Preferably, the recess has a depth of substantially three inches and a width of substantially one inch and continuous in the flange 17 in the periphery of the .3. Although preferably formed during pouring or" the bottom l3, the recess 26 may be formed with slightly more diificulty by employing suitable concretecutting apparatus after the concrete has set.

in the normal course of erection, the panels Ma, Ma are inserted downwardly into the recess 20 before wing fastened together and plumbed and leveled. However, prior to their being inserted in the recess 20, a layer of leveling material 343 is placed in the recess 29 to a depth of substantially one inch. Thus, the panels Ma, Ma rest endwise on the material 30, and the material M is readily deformable to enable the top edges of the panels Ma, Mo to be leveled, for exmnple, to permit one end of a panel to be lowered by compressing the material 3%.

In order to provide a strong watertight sealed joint between the bottom of the wall and the bottom l3, a sealing and bonding agent 33 is flowed into the recess 2% wal along the lower margin of the panels Ma, Ma. in the present instance, the sealing and bonding agent is an epoxy resin which, after setting under normal ambient conditions, provides a flexible and watertight seal which possesses high strength and which is resistant to deterioration. Many types of epoxy resins are available for bonding steel to concrete; however, an epoxy resin such as Royston C-202 sold by the Royston Laboratories of Pittsburgh Pa, has been employed with satisfactory resulm.

in some pool installations, the coping means 115 around the top of the wall 14 may possess a water-conveying channel 4&9. in the illustrated embodiment, the metallic coping 25 of type 304 Stainless Steel is shaped to have an upstanding inner wall portion 4i and an upstanding outer wall portion 42 connected thereto by a substantially horizontal web 43 which extends across the top of the wall 14. The upper margin of the inner wall 51 is reversely and outwardly turned and terminates in a lip 44,, and the outer wall 42 has a lip 45 in registry with the lip 44 for horizontally supporting a screen 46. The upper margin of the outer wall 42 is also reversely and outwardly turned to butt against a top layer of concrete or tile 47.

The coping i5 is temporarily supported adjacent the top of the wall 14 by means of a structure which permits the position of the coping to be adjusted before concrete is poured therearound to efi'ect permanent installation in the ground as illustrated in H6. i. As may be seen in H6. 7, the support structure comprises a supporting or lower layer of concrete 32 overlying a layer of earth 36 which is bacltfilled against the outside of the wall and tamped before the concrete 32 is poured. A double-flanged angle member, in this case a Z- shaped member 33, engages the underside of the coping l5 and extends laterally outward therefrom, in the present instance at a right angle. The member 33 is mounted for vertical displacement toward or away from the concrete 32 by adjusting means comprising a pair of threaded fasteners 34, 34 each of which ha its threaded portion projecting upwardly through the member 33 and each of which threadedly carries adjusting nuts 34a, 34a engaging opposite sides of the member 33. The heads of the fasteners 34, 34 are embedded in the concrete 32, and both fasteners are spaced outwardly of the outer wall portion 42 of the coping iii to support the coping in cantilever fashion for providing ready access to the nuts 34a, 340 so that vertical adjustment of the coping may be effected upon rotation of the nuts in the promr directions. it is to be noted, however, that before leveling of the coping 15, a layer of sealing material 35, for instance like the aforementioned epoxy resin, is applied on the top of the wall 14 and along the underside of the coping 15 to provide a watertight and flexible sealed joint around the top of the wall l4. Like the fasteners 34, 34', a series of reinforcing rods 37, 37 are embedded in the concrete and each has at its inner end an upturned hook end 38 which engages between the upper tie bar 2i and the outside of the wall id to stren then the structure of the pool.

After the coping 15 has con leveled, it is anchored in place by an upper layer of concrete 39 poured onto the layer 32 and around the coping support structure to permanently integrate the coping 15 with the pool. Thereafter, the tile or concrete blocks 47 are positioned above the upper layer 39 and in abutting relation with the outermost surface of the coping 15 (see FIG. 1), thereby completing construction of the pool 10.

in view of the foregoing, it should be apparent that a swimming pool has been provided having a novel structure which resists leakage and which enables the pool to be constructed in an expeditious manner by an improved method.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, various modifications, alterations or changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

lclaim:

l. in a swimming pool having a bottom located below ground level and a sidewall, said sidewall extending upwardly from said bottom in a predetermined configuration, and means providing coping along the top of said wall, the improvement comprising: a recess provided with said predetermined configuration in said bottom for receiving the lower margin of said wall, leveling means disposed in said recess and engaging the lower edge of said wall to support said wall, and means overlying said leveling means in said recess and engaging said lower wall margin to bond said wall to said bottom and thereby to provide a sealed joint which seals the pool against the leakage of water through said joint.

2. Apparatus according to claim l wherein at least a portion of said coping means extends across the top of said wall, and including a separate sealed joint disposed between the top of the wall and said coping means.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 including support means spaced below the top edge of said wall and extending outwardly therefrom, adjusting means on said support means and engaging said coping means, mounting said coping means for selective displacement toward and away from said support means, so that the position of the coping means may be adjusted relative to the top of the wall.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said adjusting means includes a member underlying said coping means, a pair of upstanding threaded fasteners each having a portion of its threads projecting upwardly through said member and each threadedly carrying nut means engaging said member and operable upon rotation to permit displacement of said member, and said support means includes a lower layer of concrete surrounding the lower portions of said threaded fasteners to securely mount said fasteners in their upstanding positions, and anchor means including an upper layer of concrete overlying and bonded to said lower layer and surrounding said member and the upper portions of said fasteners to securely mount said coping means after its position has been adjusted.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said coping means has an outer upstanding wall portion and an inner upstanding wall portion integral therewith and cooperating to form an upwardly opening water-conveying channel therebetween, said fasteners being disposed outwardly of said outer wall portion to cause said member to support said coping means in cantilever fashion and to provide ready access to the nut means for permitting adjustment of the position of the coping prior to the pouring of the upper layer of concrete.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said inner wall portion has an outwardly reversely turned margin terminating in a lip projecting into said water channel and said outer wall portion has a lip in registry with said first-mentioned lip, and including a screen supported on said lips and overlying said water channel. 

1. In a swimming pool having a bottom located below ground level and a sidewall, said sidewall extending upwardly from said bottom in a predetermined configuration, and means providing coping along the top of said wall, the improvement comprising: a recess provided with said predetermined configuration in said bottom for receiving the lower marGin of said wall, leveling means disposed in said recess and engaging the lower edge of said wall to support said wall, and means overlying said leveling means in said recess and engaging said lower wall margin to bond said wall to said bottom and thereby to provide a sealed joint which seals the pool against the leakage of water through said joint.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein at least a portion of said coping means extends across the top of said wall, and including a separate sealed joint disposed between the top of the wall and said coping means.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 including support means spaced below the top edge of said wall and extending outwardly therefrom, adjusting means on said support means and engaging said coping means, mounting said coping means for selective displacement toward and away from said support means, so that the position of the coping means may be adjusted relative to the top of the wall.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said adjusting means includes a member underlying said coping means, a pair of upstanding threaded fasteners each having a portion of its threads projecting upwardly through said member and each threadedly carrying nut means engaging said member and operable upon rotation to permit displacement of said member, and said support means includes a lower layer of concrete surrounding the lower portions of said threaded fasteners to securely mount said fasteners in their upstanding positions, and anchor means including an upper layer of concrete overlying and bonded to said lower layer and surrounding said member and the upper portions of said fasteners to securely mount said coping means after its position has been adjusted.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said coping means has an outer upstanding wall portion and an inner upstanding wall portion integral therewith and cooperating to form an upwardly opening water-conveying channel therebetween, said fasteners being disposed outwardly of said outer wall portion to cause said member to support said coping means in cantilever fashion and to provide ready access to the nut means for permitting adjustment of the position of the coping prior to the pouring of the upper layer of concrete.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said inner wall portion has an outwardly reversely turned margin terminating in a lip projecting into said water channel and said outer wall portion has a lip in registry with said first-mentioned lip, and including a screen supported on said lips and overlying said water channel. 